Trump's Standing With Young People is Cratering ...

A New York Times/Siena poll released Thursday found 69 percent of registered voters 18-29 disapproved of Trump’s handling of the presidency, while just 26 percent approved. A notable 54 percent said they “strongly” disapprove of his handling.

A CNN poll released this month found 69 percent of U.S. adults 18-34 disapproved of the way Trump is handling his job as president, compared to just 30 percent who approved.

And a YouGov poll conducted this month found 62 percent of registered voters under 30 disapprove of Trump’s handling of the presidency, compared to 36 percent who approve.

That’s a net negative of roughly 26 percent. But what’s remarkable about this poll is that Trump had a net positive of 7.6 percent in January 2025, a stunning 34 percentage-point drop in a year.

In talking with young voters and polling experts, a few possible reasons for the move away from Trump emerged. One, we were told, young voters expect to see results quickly. Two, they do not have the sort of party loyalty their elders do. Three, in some cases, they see his policies as being more extreme than they expected.

Together, these factors may be creating a situation where young voters are jumping ship.

Rachel Janfaza, an independent journalist who tracks young people’s political habits, said young voters in 2024 felt that life was unaffordable and took a chance at backing Trump despite possibly disagreeing with him on other issues. “But now they’re like, this isn’t what I signed up for,” Janfaza said.

“Our generation is driven by issues, not partisan loyalty, and also really moves at the speed of digital culture and online culture,” added Janfaza, who is 28. “That’s part of why the sort of vibes shift so quickly is because that’s the speed at which the internet moves.”
Jo Rogan Said “You don’t want militarised people in the streets just roaming around, snatching up people — many of which turn out to be U.S. citizens that just don’t have their papers on them,” Rogan said this month on his podcast. “Are we really going to be the Gestapo, ‘Where’s your papers?’ Is that what we’ve come to?”

“Young men didn’t back Trump in ’24 because they loved chaos; they backed him for strength, stability and some control over their lives,” said Della Volpe, who is the director of polling at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics.

“In our spring focus groups, many seemed willing to give him some time, but that goodwill is dissipating fast — especially when daily life feels so expensive, and Trump’s attention has turned elsewhere.”

Washington Post 23 January 2026